and the WINNER of the "WINNER-WINNER CHICKEN DINNER" QUARTERLY GIVEAWAY IS . . .
THE GRAND PRIZE WINNER of the Quarterly Giveaway is . . . Drum roll please!
Wait! Before we announce the winner, huge thanks and fishbowl love to all of you who entered this quarter’s Winner’s Choice Giveaway by subscribing to my blog, “Kelly’s Fishbowl,” sending letters & drawing to Norman the Goldfish’s advice column “Ask Norman,” or sharing snapshots of “Activities” on social media.
The good news is you made our fishy hearts flutter with joy.
The better news is, there weren’t as many entries as their could have been—did you forget you could enter more than one time each quarter?—so all of you who did enter have a 1-22 chance of winning. Talk about great odds!
In the interest of fairness, we wanted choosing the winner to be completely random random drawing. We asked this guy to pick a winner.
But he wouldn’t take the bait. . .
So, we popped all the entries into our trusty fish bucket. . .
And the winner is: KARI LAVELLE
Lucky Kari will win dinner with a chicken or her choice of any one of these fabulous prizes:
To all of you, There’s still next time! Enter now, enter often, even better—have your kids, students, second-cousin on your goldfish’s side enter. There is no limit to how many times you enter—or WIN the Quarterly Winner-Choice Giveaway!
What Inspires Me? #2 Dawgs!
You Dawg, you! . . . Sure, when said with a certain intonation it's a sideways compliment, but I personally never aspired to being a Dawg or Dog. Before now . . .
"I really don't want to be dog either. But, I'm not sure a bunny is better option."
What Inspires Me?
#2 Dogs!
Confession time: I read AARP magazine. (The subscription's not mine--really, it's not--It's my mother's...not that there's anything wrong with that.) Or, as they used to say about Playboy: "I read it for the articles..."
Of course I opened it. Kevin Costner aside, who can resist a lead line that reads"6 Bad Habits that are Really Healthy?
Moving on: An article titled Our Dog Years in the Dec. 2014-Jan. 2015 issue, caught my attention. (So, I'm a little behind in my reading.) OMG I thought, wanting to rip it into shreds and compost it. What's the deal with all the books and movies starring dogs? It's as though mid-life crisis, once synonymous with mistresses and souped-up convertibles, is now all about dogs. Reminds me of the play Sylvia, in which an adopted dog becomes the "other woman" in a middle-aged couple's marriage. Funny play . . . Scary thought considering how many other recent movies feature leading men who love their dogs more than humans...Richard Gere, really?
Curious about just how many mid-life dog crush movies have been published recently, I Googled "Dog-Lovers+Movies." This list popped up:
The Greatest Dog Movies of All Time
List Criteria: Films must be about dogs or feature dogs / puppies as major characters
(Turns out it's an interactive list! We--you and me--can influence each movie's placement on the list by voting. I've hyperlinked it above in case you'd like to do some investigating--voting--dog movie watching later.)
Anyway, back to the article. As a non-dog lover, I must confess it was a bit of a yawn:
The best part was the end. (No disrespect intended, David Dudley.) The article closed with a nugget of advice from neuroscientist Elizabeth Head.
Dr. Head studies aging beagles at the University of Kentucky. She’s noticed the plaques (hallmarks of Alzheimer’s disease) found in aging dogs is similar to those found in humans (more similar even than those found in primates.) The reason, Head poses, might be that “living in our environment—our food, our water, our homes—has made dogs more vulnerable.” That age-related dementia might actually be a “side effect of civilization.”
If, as Head suggests, domesticating dogs has made them prone to human “Old-timers” then might the reverse be true? Rather than “Gone to the dogs,” meaning something has “gone badly wrong and lost all the good it had,” is the converse true? Maybe going to the dogs the better way? Rather than singing along, should we heed the call of the song: “Duh-duh-duh duh da- dut/duh-duh-duh duh da- dut/duh-duh-duh duh da- dut/duh-duh-duh duh da- dut/Hey baby…”
Dr. Head is confidant she will figure out how to “stop brain decline entirely in middle-age animals" (hopefully humans included). In the meantime, she's offered, via Dudley's article, this sage advice:
“Everything you do for a dog to help them age well, you should do with them”
TREAT YOURSELF AS YOU DO YOUR DOG:
Eat the best food you can afford
Go for a walk, even when it’s raining
Keep your teeth clean and your breath fresh, so that people you lick will not flinch
When someone you love walks in through the door, even if it happens five times a day, go totally insane with joy
Take your vitamins! Like these from topdogvitamins.com!
So now I'm thinking: If we can learn all this from living like a dog, what wellness tips can we learn from our cats? Or our Fish?
Living Like a Dog Playlist:
Click on Fishbowl link and sign up to receive email notifications from Kelly's blog (aka The Fishbowl). All who subscribe, comment or share a poem will be entered in my “Winner-Winner Chicken Dinner” Quarterly Giveaway!
WINNER of the "Goodbye 2021 WINNER-WINNER CHICKEN DINNER" QUARTERLY GIVEAWAY IS . . .
THE GRAND PRIZE WINNER of the “Goodbye 2021” Quarterly Giveaway is . . . Fanfare please!
Wait! Before we announce the winner, huge thanks and fishbowl love to all of you who entered this quarter’s Winner’s Choice Giveaway by subscribing to my blog, “Kelly’s Fishbowl,” sending letters & drawing to Norman the Goldfish’s advice column “Ask Norman,” or sharing snapshots of “Activities” on social media. The good news is you made our fishy hearts flutter with joy. The better news is, there weren’t as many entries as there could have been—did you forget you could enter more than one time each quarter? —so all of you who did enter have a 1 in 77 chance of winning. Talk about great odds!
In the interest of fairness, we wanted choosing the winner to be completely random random drawing. To that end, first we asked this guy to pick a winner. Now! Without further ado—Here’s Jack
And the winner is: Blanca17
Lucky Blanca17 will win dinner with a chicken or her choice of any one of these fabulous prizes:
To all of you, There’s still next time! Enter now, enter often, even better—have your kids, students, second-cousin on your goldfish’s side enter. There is no limit to how many times you enter—or WIN the Quarterly Winner-Choice Giveaway!
WINNER OF THE 1ST "WINNER-WINNER CHICKEN DINNER" QUARTERLY GIVEAWAY IS . . .
THE GRAND PRIZE WINNER of the 1st Quarterly Giveaway is . . . Fanfare please!
Wait! Before we announce the winner, huge thanks and fishbowl love to all of you who entered this quarter’s Winner’s Choice Giveaway by subscribing to my blog, “Kelly’s Fishbowl,” sending letters & drawing to Norman the Goldfish’s advice column “Ask Norman,” or sharing snapshots of “Activities” on social media. The good news is you made our fishy hearts flutter with joy. The better news is, there weren’t as many entries as their could have been—did you forget you could enter more than one time each quarter?—so all of you who did enter have a 1-53 chances of winning. Talk about great odds!
In the interest of fairness, we wanted choosing the winner to be completely random random drawing. To that end, first we asked this guy to pick a winner:
But he wouldn’t take the bait. So . . . We asked This Guy . . .
Oso was thrilled to help. And with complete impartial plucking—and a bit of potato chip juice, OSO selected the winner.
And the winner is: Maria Campbell!
Lucky Maria will win dinner with a chicken or her choice of any one of these fabulous prizes:
To all of you, There’s still next time! Enter now, enter often, even better—have your kids, students, second-cousin on your goldfish’s side enter. There is no limit to how many times you enter—or WIN the Quarterly Winner-Choice Giveaway!
Fin Pals Ask Norman T Goldfish "How Do I Wake Wanda the Crawfish?"
Norman T. Goldfish answers letters from readers. Click on the link to read his reply.
Say kids, Norman had never even heard of a crawfish before receiving Scarlett’s letter. So, we looked it up in our go-to encyclopedia Kiddle. Here are some fun crayfish facts! and more about molting from Acuriopets. Click below for a closeup of a crawfish in action.
Some friends write letters, some ask questions, some send pictures. Norman glugs them all! Do you think Scarlett looks as worried as Norman’s human does in this drawing?
Do you have a question for Norman the Goldfish—about friends, school, pets, family, life in and outside the fishbowl? Send him a letter! He’d love to hear from you!
Mail your questions to Norman at:
Norman the Goldfish
PO Box 1094
WHB, NY 11978
Be sure to include your return address if you want Norman to write back.
E-Mail questions to Norman:
Snap a photo of your handwritten question and email it to Norman using the handy-dandy form: Click Here for E-Mail Form. (Don’t forget to sign it!)
And!!!!! Everyone who sends Norman a question will be entered to WIN a prize in Kelly’s Giveaway!
Pen Pals ask Kelly, "Did You Ever Do Something Else?"
Norman T. Goldfish answers letters from readers. Click on the link to read his reply.
Norman T. Goldfish doesn’t get all the mail; sometimes Pen Pals write to Kelly too. In this letter, Jada asks the question lots of friends ask:
What do you think? Has Kelly had other jobs? Should she get one now? Or should she keep writing stories?
Scroll down for Kelly’s response:
Do you have a question for Norman the Goldfish—about friends, school, pets, family, life in and outside the fishbowl? Send him a letter! Click Here for Details!
And!!!!! Everyone who sends Norman a question will be entered to WIN a prize in Kelly’s Giveaway!
Fin Pals Ask Norman T Goldfish: What's Your Favorite Frosting?
Norman T. Goldfish answers letters from readers. Click on the link to read his reply.
“Hurrah-hooray! It’s my birthday!”
What kind of frosting do you think Norman wants on his cake? If you were a goldfish what kind would you like? Scroll down to read Norman’s answer.
Glug
Glug
Glug . . .
And check out these fishbowl cake pops our friend, Jamie Golden at Sweet Revenge made:
Do you have a question for Norman the Goldfish—about friends, school, pets, family, life in and outside the fishbowl? Send him a letter! Click Here for Details!
And!!!!! Everyone who sends Norman a question will be entered to WIN a prize in Kelly’s Giveaway!
Fin Pals Ask Norman T Goldfish: What if a Friend is Mean?
Norman T. Goldfish answers letters from readers. Click on the link to read his reply.
Have you ever told someone “Go away!”? Or “I don’t want to play with you?” Norman has. And school friends said mean things to him, too. What do you think Norman did afterwards?
Scroll down to read Norman’s answer.
Glug
Glug
Glug . . .
“Give a friend some time and then say “Hi! Let’s talk.”
For more about friends not being friendly, you and your adult can read “Three Ways to Deal with a Mean Friend.”
Do you have a question for Norman the Goldfish—about friends, school, pets, family, life in and outside the fishbowl? Send him a letter! Click Here for Details!
And!!!!! Everyone who sends Norman a question will be entered to WIN a prize in Kelly’s Giveaway!